Clip



y 1934- E. MOREHOUSE ET AL 1,967,965

CLIP

Filed March 30, 1954 v I N V EN TORS large/e e Illa/e4 ouse ffe/ V192 W/Vo are Patented July 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE CLIP Island Application March so,

14 Claims.

This invention relates to a clip of the type to be used for engaging the ear or as a dress clip for articles of clothing; and has for one of its objects the provision of a clip which will when used on the ear be more comfortable and yet will not slip and fall from the ear.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a long spring action for moving the gripping jaws together, which will tend to have 19 a softer grip on the ear and a more even tension throughout the working range of the spread or" the jaws.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a resilient arm which may have its resilience distributed along its length. l

- Another object of the invention is the provision of a construction by which the leverage may be readily changed to vary the amount of tension desired.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a clip having a folded arm for applying spring tension, the fold of which may be nicely adjusted to vary the pressure or tension.

With these and other objects in View the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In. the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of our clip made up as a finding and secured to an ornamental late;

p Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof showing the jaws in open position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the doubled back jaw which provides the resilience;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View looking at the other end of this jaw;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the mounting member which acts as a connector between the jaw of Figs. 4 and 5, and the ornament which acts as the other jaw;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of clip, illustrating the ornament mounting member which we have just spoken of as of a construction which in itself acts as a law rather than the ornamental member to which it is attached;

Fig. 8 is an end view of the back of the structure shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of another form of structure along the lines of Figs. 7 and 8;

1934, Serial No. 718,256 (01. 24252) Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the leverage action of the parts;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the device used as a dress clip with spurs formed on one of the Jaws;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of a modified form of clip constructed with spurs for use as a dress clip;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view illustrating a different modified form of clip also provided with spurs for use as a dress Clips are used for mounting ornaments on dresses and other articles of clothing and also for mounting ornaments on the ears to take the place or the so-called earrings or earwires; and P in this latter use it is desirable that there be such an action of the parts as not to cause discomfort on the ear and yet such a structure as will firmly grip the ear and maintain the ornamerit in place; and in order that this may be accomplished, we have provided a clip having a long spring arm to give a soft and yet constant pressure for moving the jaws togetl ier, and which may be readily adjusted as, to tension; and We have also so shaped this spring that its resilience may be distributed along its length for better action in movement of the jaws together; and the following is a more detailed description of the present embodiment of this invention illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be ac.- complished With reference to the drawing, 15 designates generally one of the jaw members of the clasp, which is formed of sheet stock doubled upon itself, as at 16, to provide arms 17 and 18. The width of this jaw is greater at the fold 16 than at the free ends of the arms 17 and 18, and by reason of this arrangement there is obtained a better support at the fold and a distribution of flexing along the entire length of the jaw for more easy action, particularly in cases where it is to be used for gripping the lobes of the ears.

At the free end of the arm 18 of this jaw 15, we have provided a pair of cars 19 having openings 20, and have mounted in these cars a member 21 provided with trunnions 22 to extend into the openings 20. This member 21 is bent into somewhat of a U-shape providing a spanning shank 23 with arms 24 and 25 extending therefrom. The arm 24 is disposed at substantially an acute angle with reference to the spanning shank 23 and provides a smooth curve or knee 26, and the relation of these parts is such that the arm 24 extends towards the arm 17 of the jaw 15 and engages it to force itagainst its inherent tendency to lie close to its companion arm 18 away therefrom and thus the arm 17 exerts a pressure upon the knee 26 tending to move it about the pivots 2022.

The arm 25 is used for mounting an ornament plate 2'7 which is soldered to the arm 25, and this ornament serves as another jaw for contact with the jaw 15 at a point 28 adjacent its fold, thus the pressure on the knee 26, as illustrated in Fig. 2, or in Fig. 10, tends to swing the ornament which acts as a jaw to cause the jaws to engage when in susbtantially closed position. The jaw 15 is curved to provide a receiving space between its contact end and hinge pivot.

The angular relation of the arm 24 and spanning shank 23 is such that after the jaws are swung open about the pivot to a certain extent, this spring arm 17 will slide over the knee 26 and act upon the spanning shank 23 and tend to swing the jaws further apart until they reach a substantially right angular relation when the arm 17 will extend along the surface of the spanning shank 23 and there maintain the jaws in open position.

It will, of course, be understood that this pivoting relation may be reversed by the interchanging of the trunnion and ear portions, or other means may be provided for setting up this pivotal relation. Also, it will be understood that the member 21 may be formed with its part 25 of suflicient length to provide a jaw, and in Fig. '7 we have illustrated an arm 30 as of sufficient length to act as a jaw instead of the ornament serving this purpose. This arm 30, however, in this case, itself, mounts an ornament 31,

such as apearl or imitation gem when the structure is to be used as an ear clip. In this case, however, the spanning shank 32 will be of a greater length due to the bulging 33 of the portion 30 in this construction.

In Fig. 9, we have illustrated a more ornamental type of ear jewel constructed similarly to Fig. 7, except that the spanning shank 34 is curved and the arm 35 is of a different shape and a different ornament 36 is mounted therein,

and it is also provided with an ear loop 37 for a drop 38. In Fig. 11, the jaw 39 is provided with spurs 40 to co-act with the ornament 2'7 mounted upon the member 21 for use as a dress clip.

Figs. 12 and 13 also illustrate the clip as having spurs along its jaws for use as a dress clip; Fig. 13 showing spurs on both the opposite jaws at 41 and 42. In these showings in Figs. 12 and 13, we have pivoted the jaws 43 and 44 which cooperate with the folded jaws 45 and 46 at points 47 and 48 inwardly from their ends 49 and 50, so that the ends of these jaws are engaged by the spring to swing them about the pivot and move the main or spur-carrying portion of the jaw in the opposite direction around the pivot. With reference to Figure 12, the arrangement action is substantially the same as in the foregoing figures. The jaw portion 43 which extends along the jaw 45 is secured at the pivot 47 rather than this portion being secured at the point of spring pressure and then doubled back upon itself to cause the spring to move it in the same direction and toward the spring jaw.

Also, there is a different relation of the extension of the ornament carrying jaws 43 and 44 in Figures 12 and 13. In Figure 12, the ornament-carrying portion 43 extends over the portion of the spring jaw to which it is pivoted as in the previous figure, while in Figure 13 the ornament-carrying portion 44 extends over the opposite part 51 of the spring jaw rather than over the portion 42 in which it is pivoted. In each instance, however, we have the same foldable spring jaw throughout.

If we desire to adjust the tension on the spring, we may squeeze or spread the fold 16 which is a very simple matter, and may be done quickly so that the desired tension may be obtained; or if we desire to change the pressure applied in a different manner, we may change the length of the arm such as 24, in the showings in Figures 1 to 11, also illustrated at 41 in Figure 10, which will change the effective leverage a between the arrows. in'Figure 10, thereby changing the resultant pressure which the spring will apply towards turning the parts about their pivot, or the width or thickness or temper of the stock may be changed to adjust this tension. Thus if we should want a lighter pressure for very sensitive ears, we may form the arm 24 of a shorter length, or if we wish a greater pressure we may lengthen this arm so that its leverage about the pivot will be increased and the jaws more firmly held in the desired position. The corresponding parts 49 and 50 may also be changed as to length, in Figure 12 and Figure 13.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but we desire it to be understood that we reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A clip comprising a pair of hingedly related jaws, one jaw being doubled upon itself and pivoted to the other jaw at the opposite end from said fold.

2. A clip comprising a pair of hingedly related jaws, one jaw being pivoted at its end to the other jaw and doubled to provide relatively resilient portions and engaging the other jaw for exerting a resilient tension against it to swing it about its hinge.

3. In a clip, a pair of jaws, one jaw comprising a strip of stock doubled upon itself, and the other jaw pivoted to the end of one of said doubled portions and extending into engagement with the other doubled portion to engage therewith at a location tending to swing said jaws about their pivot when in closed position.

4. A clip comprising a pair of jaws, one jaw being doubled upon itself providing a pair of arms, the other jaw being pivoted to the end of one of said arms at the opposite end from said fold and engaging the other arm to be swung about the said pivot.

5. In a clip, a pair of jaws, one jaw comprising a strip of stock doubled upon itself, and the other jaw pivoted to the end of one of said doubled portions and extending into engagement with the other doubled portion to engage therewith at a location tending to swing said jaws about their pivot when in closed position, said point of engagement shifting and tending to swing said jaws in the opposite direction after their relative movement has caused their point of contact to have passed a certain point.

6. In a clip, a pair of jaws, one jaw comprising a strip of stock doubled upon itself, and the other jaw pivoted to the end of one of said doubled portions and extending into engagement with the other doubled portion to engage therewith at a location tending to swing said jaws about their pivot when in closed position, said point of engagement shifting and tending to swing said jaws in the opposite direction after their relative movement has caused their point of contact to have passed a certain point, there being a point of dead center where the pressure of the spring is in line with the pivot and there is no tendency for movement of the jaws in either direction about the pivot.

7. A clip, comprising a pair of hingedly related jaws, one jaw being doubled outwardly upon itself away from the other jaw and engaging a portion rigid with the other jaw for exerting a resilient tension against it.

8. A clip comprising a pair of hingedly related jaws, one jaw being doubled outwardly upon itself away from the other jaw and engaging a portion rigid with the other jaw for exerting a resilient tension against it, said engagement being located on the opposite side of the pivot from the free end of said jaws to tend to swing said jaws about their pivot toward each other at their free ends when the jaws are in closed position.

9. A clip comprising a pair of hingedly related jaws, one jaw being doubled outwardly upon itself away from the other jaw and engaging a portion rigid with the other jaw for exerting a resilient tension against it, said engagement being located on the opposite side of the pivot from the free end of said jaws to tend to swing said jaws about their pivot toward each other at their free ends when the jaws are in closed position, said point of engagement shifting to the opposite side of the point and tending to swing said jaws in the opposite direction after their relative movement has passed acertain point.

10. A clip comprising a pair of hingedly related jaws, one jaw being doubled outwardly upon itself away from the other jaw and engaging a portion rigid with the other jaw for exerting a resilient tension against it, said engagement being located on the opposite side of the pivot from the free end of said jaws to tend to swing said jaws about their pivot toward each other at their free ends when the jaws are in closed position, said point of engagement shifting to the opposite side of the point and tending to swing said jaws in the opposite direction-after their relative movement has passed a certain point, there being a point of dead center where the pressure of the spring is in line with the pivot with no tendency for movement of the jaws in either direction about the pivot.

11. In a clip, a pair of jaws, one jaw comprising a strip of stock doubled upon itself providing two portions resiliently connected together at the fold, the other jaw pivoted to the free end of one of said portions and extending toward and into engagement with the other of said portions, and then extending about the pivot and over the portion to which it is pivoted to grip the material to be clipped between it and the portion of the folded jaw upon which the same is pivotally mounted.

12. In a clip, a pair of jaws, one of the jaws comprising a strip of resilient stock doubled upon itself, the other jaw pivoted to the end of one of said doubled portions and extending to provide a knee in contact with the other of the doubled portions out of line with said pivot and then extending over the first portion to which it is pivoted, there being resilience between the portions of the doubled jaw so that pressure when applied to said knee tends to move the jaws about their pivoting toward each other when in closed position.

13. In a clip, a pair of jaws, one of the jaws comprising a strip of resilient stock doubled upon itself, the'other jaw pivoted to the end of one of said doubled portions and extending to provide a knee in contact with the other of the doubled portions out of line with said pivot and then extending over the first portion to which it is pivoted, there being resilience between the portions of the doubled jaw so that pressure when applied to said knee tends to move the jaws about their pivoting toward each other when in closed position, said knee comprising generally angularly related parts such that after the jaws are opened to a certain extent, the spring will contact with a point on the other side of the line of said pivot to swing the jaws open.

14. In a clip, a pair of jaws, one of the jaws comprising a strip of stock doubled upon itself, and exerting by reason of the fold in the stock a resilient action on the other of the jaws, said folded jaw being broader at the fold than at its free ends, whereby to distribute the resilience thereof along the jaw and stiffen the resilient action at the fold.

, EUGENE MOREHOUSE.

MELVIN W. MOORE.

Ill 

